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BRPD launches crime analysis dashboard for public to see real-time trends in the city
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BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge police recently launched a crime trend dashboard where the public can go look at real-time crime trends happening inside the city limits.
To date, it shows homicides are down, while felony arrests are up. Robberies are up and so are mental health calls.
"It's not just about the enforcement piece which we are actively involved in," Chief Murphy Paul said. "We arrested more than 4,000 felons...seized 1,800 firearms. This rumor that I heard that we are soft on crime...we are not. We actually arrested more people for felonies and seized more...so we are not soft on crime. We are focusing our efforts on the small group that we have to deal with over and over again."
Despite the dashboard showing that 2023 is starting off on a positive note, there are questions about a lot of high-profile incidents that have occurred recently, like a shootout at a club last month that left more than a dozen hurt. So far, no arrests have been made in that case.
"My detectives are working non-stop to try to identify the person or persons responsible for that incident," Paul said. "They are still working now. That's all I can say right now. It's still an ongoing investigation."
There's also the case of murdered LSU student Allie Rice and toddler Devin Page. Rice was shot and killed on Government Street after leaving a bar. Page was killed as he slept in his bed.
"We are still investigating," Paul said. "I spoke to her father last week. Those are the ones that when you think of Allie and Devin Page...innocent young people taken for no reason. There are no lifestyles that caused that situation. Totally innocent angels taken away from us. In both of those cases, I never stop asking my detectives. We will never stop investigating those cases."
WBRZ asked if those cases have gone cold.
"There are still investigative efforts going on," Paul said.
Paul added that the men and women on the streets are also seeing a new type of weapon — Glock switches. Those can turn a gun into a machine gun, making things more dangerous for the public. He had this word of caution for the public:
"We know there is a lot of toxicity that's circulating," Paul said. "We know there is a lot of misinformation circulating on social media. If you go to our website, www.brpd.com, we post our crime trend analysis, so you can get factual information about crime in the city of Baton Rouge."
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